Bear Shaman

From WikiAOC

This type of shaman has a powerful mystical kinship with bears and is able to call upon and be infused with the strength of a bear, and possibly become a bear themselves (see the 'Bear transformation speculation' heading below), providing great melee prowess. While still having good restorative abilities, the Bear Shaman prefers to rend and maul the enemy. The Bear Shaman is also the only priest class that is able to wear medium armor.

[edit] Abilities

• Bear Shaman Spells & Combos
• Bear Shaman Feats

[edit] Specialties

• Healer
• Group resistance/defensive buffs
• Two-handed Blunt weapons
• Archery (At Later Levels)

[edit] Available races

• Cimmerians

[edit] Bear transformation speculation

There is currently some speculation as to whether full transformation effects will be included in-game.

From Athelan's blog:

• Q: In an answer to one of the class questions, you stated "Scions of Set do not turn into a snake and chomp away.". Are Scions of Set not able to turn into actual snakes like the class preview leads us to believe?
• A: Neither the Bear Shaman or Scion of Set are full poly-morphers. They're being imbued with the energies of their 'totem creature', if you will, presented in other ways.

[edit] Preview

Since ages long passed, certain gifted individuals – often referred to as wise men or wise women – have held a special, unbreakable bond with the spirits of nature. Within many of the primitive societies found among the hill tribes of Cimmeria, these men and women are held in particularly high regard due to their ability to call upon the powers these spirits possess. For these and many other Cimmerians – a people whose lives are greatly influenced by the creatures of nature that surrounds them – anyone who can tap into these powers are considered to be of great importance and wisdom.

Those of them who decide to leave their tribes and head into the world of great adventure, often call themselves Bear Shamans. With their ability to perform ancient rites and call upon the spirits of the bear, the Bear Shamans are a valued addition to any group of adventurers who wishes to tackle the challenges of Hyborian reality.

The Bear Shaman has received the more physical aspect of nature – while the Druid of the Storm will conjure up lightning and storms, the Bear Shaman focuses his power and energies towards himself, aligning himself through shamanistic rites with the spirit of the bear.

The Bear Shaman represents two sides of nature – Tranquility and Fury. The tranquil side of the Bear Shaman allows him to utilize powerful magic to heal himself and his friends. Tapping into the power of the wind, the Bear Shaman may heal both himself and his teammates by utilizing the very forces of nature itself. The Renewal spell gained at level twenty is one of many healing spells the Bear Shaman will have access to. His ability to resurrect friends who fell in the midst of a bloody battle becomes available to him at around level thirty, but the spell will become more and more potent as the Bear Shaman grows in power – allowing him to further diminish the detrimental effects of death.

In Age of Conan there is also something called "Cone healing" which is basically a feature where the caster can heal everyone in front of within a certain distance. The first of these spells is Blood Flow received at level twenty-five. Instead of having to target specific members of your party or casting an area of effect spell, the Bear Shaman must face those he wish to heal. Far from being an observer in battles, the Bear Shaman will also have to heal himself to remedy the injuries sustained through fighting. As such, the Blood Flow spell will also heal the caster – although with lesser effect.

One of the furious sides of the Bear Shaman allows him to use various weapons in order to engage in melee combat. Known to be more than able fighters, the Bear Shaman will learn to master several tools of death – such as two-handed blunt weapons, two-handed edged weapons and even bows at later levels. Through practice they gain access to various melee combos that will allow them to perform violent, damage-dealing maneuvers with their weapon.

Calling upon the spirits of the bear, the Bear Shaman can boost both himself and those who travels with him. As the great transparent shape of the bear rises up behind him to transfuse the powers over to the caster, the Spirit of the Bear spell will increase the caster’s health. Caving into his furious nature, the Bear Shaman will gain access to the powerful Lycanthropic Bite spell at level eighty, a spell that will take a percentage of the melee damage the Bear Shaman does with both normal and combo moves and convert it into healing. The Grizzled Hide spell will increase the defense rating of all teammates, but only if they remember to stay close to the bear shaman. Moving too far away from him and the effects will disappear. This will urge teammates to stay close.

Pulling out a ferocious power from deep within his own spirit, the Bear Shaman can also cast so-called manifestations. Enfeebling Manifestation gained around level fifty will, for instance, continuously pulse a curse from the caster that will debuff all nearby foes.

Bear Shamans can also curse their enemies. Using Blessed Claws which becomes available at level seventy, two bears will rush past the caster and put a curse on the target that will not only increase the health regeneration of the caster, but will also heal anyone who attacks the caster’s target – thus making life extremely difficult for the enemy! The Bear Shaman’s ability to heal, buff and even engage in vicious close combat (not to mention ranged combat) makes this class an excellent choice for anyone who wants to explore many of the different aspects of Age of Conan at once – from melee to magic.

As an extra snack for you guys and girls, we’ve included a very short video clip showing a Bear Shaman taking advantage of the Blessed Claws spell. Check it out here!

[edit] Interview

Ten Ton Hammer: In a recent interview, you stated that the Bear Shaman will probably be a more melee-oriented class compared to its priestly brethren. In the current form, how will Bear Shaman’s heals work, and what sort of healing ability will he have compared to the other priest classes?

Evan Michaels: All of the Priests have comparable healing abilities, even though their method of bestowing those abilities on their group differs quite dramatically. Bear Shaman are, as you stated, very melee-oriented and both facilitate and boost their healing capacity by dealing damage via melee attacks and combos.

[edit] Bear Shaman Melee Capabilities

Ten Ton Hammer: It’s also been stated that Bear Shaman have pretty incredible melee-based DPS. Is this true? How do they rank in the grand scheme of the melee DPS classes?

Evan: Bear Shaman do quite impressive DPS when focusing on it, and will deal damage somewhere between that of a Conqueror and the Rogue classes. The trick with the Bear Shaman is, of course, balancing the needs of their group with their offensive potential.

[edit] Class Appeal

Ten Ton Hammer: Bear Shaman seem to be a completely new twist on the standard healing class equation. Do you feel that the Bear Shaman will be one of the more popular classes, least popular, or will they simply fall in the middle of the road of popularity?

Evan: I feel that the Bear Shaman will eventually become a reasonably popular class, however it is not one I would consider "easy" to play, per se. To play a Bear Shaman well, one must be extremely active and have very keen situational awareness. Due to this, I have a hunch it is one of those classes that will grow on people over time as they become more comfortable with the game's intricacies.

[edit] Melee Healer

Ten Ton Hammer: Bear Shaman can wear medium armor, and are the only priests that can do so. What kind of advantages and/or disadvantages will wearing medium armor cause? Did you give them this ability mainly to protect them in melee combat?

Evan: Yes, Bear Shaman have been intentionally designed to be a bit "tougher" than the other Priests simply due to the fact that they are the only one of the three who are plunged into melee combat with their opponents--even in group situations. While the other Priests rely heavily on crowd control and using open space to their advantage, Bear Shaman pretty much have to take the brunt of punishment when things take a turn for the unexpected.

[edit] Bear Shaman in PvP

Ten Ton Hammer: To the casual observer it seems like Bear Shamans will be extremely powerful in PvP, wielding both potent melee attacks and with the ability to heal themselves through their combat encounters. How do you propose to balance Bear Shamans compared to the other classes?

Evan: Bear Shaman have proven to be reasonably popular in our PvP tests for the reasons you mentioned, however they aren't invincible and have a few weaknesses when compared to other melee classes. Although they have the ability to deal substantial damage while healing, they are also handicapped by the need to balance their health, mana and stamina pools simultaneously--while most other classes only have to concern themselves with two of those three elements. Additionally, they probably have the smallest toolset of the melee classes when it comes to dealing with ranged opponents.

[edit] Armor

Ten Ton Hammer: It has been mentioned that armor sets scale along with level. Guardians, for example, can wear medium armor at level 10, and then plate at level 60. What level can Bear Shamans begin wearing medium armor?

Evan: Bear Shaman can wear medium armor pretty much right out of the gates, starting at level 10.

[edit] Abilities - Spirits and Manifestations

Ten Ton Hammer: People have assumed that the Bear Shaman will eventually be able to take the form of an actual bear? Is this true? What kinds of advantages / disadvantages are inherent in this sort of transformation? Will it only last for a certain amount of time?

Evan: Although it may disappoint some, Bear Shaman will not actually take the physical form of a bear during gameplay. Instead, they channel spirits into various manifestations and aspects of the wilderness. These elements are harnessed in-game via three different types of buffs, "Spirit Totems," "Claw Totems," and "Manifestations." Of these three lines, one may only have a single of each running at any given time, with a handful of choices at the Bear Shaman's disposal.

For instance, when selecting a Claw Totem, the Bear Shaman could choose between the following types: - "Claws of Stone", which grants a chance of increasing the defenses of the Bear Shaman. - "Claws of Corruption", which causes melee attacks to inflict additional poison and unholy damage whilst also cursing the target, causing others hitting that target to inflict additional damage as well. - "Reaper Claws", increases melee damage whilst also having a chance to proc a bleeding wound on the target which can stack up to 3 times. - "Claws of Life", which grants melee attacks by the Bear Shaman and his allies a chance to slightly heal their wounds.

[edit] Role of a Bear Shaman

Ten Ton Hammer: In many other MMORPGs, Shaman have always been the “buffing” champions. They have the largest number of buffs and debuffs available. Will this remain true in Age of Conan? What sort of buffs and debuffs will players have access to?

Evan: The Bear Shaman does not have an excess number of buffs, having a fairly similar amount compared to the other Priests. However, as mentioned, they have many abilities such as their Claw Totems or Spirit Totems which can benefit their team in a rather active way. Bear Shaman enhance and support their team by being up in the fray--crushing and weakening their opponents--rather than standing back and watching the action from afar.

[edit] Playing a Bear Shaman

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything else you can tell us about the Bear Shaman?

Evan: Personally, I feel that the Bear Shaman is an extremely unique class that brings with it a gameplay experience very unlike anything players may be used to expecting from a "healer". As someone who has played healing classes rather heavily in other games, I can say from personal experience that the Bear Shaman is a very different experience from what I had been used to.

That said, I find the class to be extremely fun due to its fast-paced gameplay and tendency to reward situational awareness and quick reactions based on changing circumstances. While the Bear Shaman may not be the first choice for someone used to playing "stand at the back" types of healers in other games, it will most likely be a very enjoyable experience for those interested in a more "hands-on" survivalist.